Armed Forces Day to be marked at Lilac Mall Events scheduled inside and outside all day long

Thursday

May 9, 2013 at 3:15 AM

By John Nolanjnolan@fosters.com

ROCHESTER — It may not quite rival the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, as it will be at a shopping outlet rather than on a castle esplanade, but the celebration of Armed Forces Day at the Lilac Mall on May 18 promises to be an impressive, multi-faceted event.

“It will be a great day for families,” said Mall Manager Ellen Paquette, who was putting the final arrangements together, recently, along with Rochester Veterans’ Council (RVC) President Dennis Sellers and Al Benton of AMVETS Post 1. The activities will take place both inside the mall and outside in a designated parking lot area.

The opening ceremony is slated for 9:30 a.m., with Pipe Major Pat Boyle skirling the bagpipes, and several components of the RVC posting colors. The National Anthem will be sung and singer Tenley Westbrook will perform.

At 10 a.m. the Jr. ROTC drill team will perform, and at 10:20 a.m. they will conduct a flag folding ceremony, which includes explaining the significance of each fold.

The Sons of the American Legion, at 10:50 a.m., will set a table and conduct the POW/MIA ceremony, which aims to convey the isolation of a prisoner with a series of symbolic items.

There will be a Canine Companions for Independence demo at 11:20 a.m., and half an hour later, Rochester’s Peggy Johnson will sing a medley of patriotic songs. At 12:30 p.m. Rochester Middle School eighth-grader Ben Raines will give a concert and at 1 p.m., James Locke of Farmington, who will be acting as the emcee for the event, will give a half-hour magic show, after which the morning’s acts will be performed again in reverse order. Closing ceremonies are slated from 3:25 to 4 p.m.

Throughout the day there will be much to see, including the re-enactors of the 1st NH Regiment, and a convoy of vehicles from the Wright Museum in Wolfeboro. Included will be a Humvee rocket launcher, a “deuce and a half” truck, a World War II Jeep, a World war II command car, an M20 six-wheel armored car, an M3A1 scout car with mounted machine gun and a World War II motor-cycle, which, according to Benton, is valued at $80,000.

Benton added, “I have always wanted to do something for Armed Forces Day. Now, thanks to Ellen, it will happen.”

At least two dozen military and veterans’ organizations will have information tables set up, and the Vet Center van will be through from Vermont to offer its services to veterans.

The Pease Greeters organization will have a table at which youngsters can make cards that will be given to the troops. At the RVC table, veterans displaying their credentials, will be given a card that will allow them to visit a number of mall stores and obtain substantial discounts that day. Participating stores include Sears, Cardland, Country Essentials, Bea’s Jewelers, Radio Shack, Olympia Sports, Jordan Family Eyecare, Small World Wireless AT&T and Papa Gino’s.

For more information on Armed Forces Day, call Sellers at 312-2235, Benton at 332-1073 or Paquette at 332-9234.